MIAMI — It was so boring when the Miami Heat weren't playing close games. No debates over whether LeBron James should shoot or pass in the waning seconds. No arguments about whether Dwyane Wade is the real closer on the Heat.
Thankfully, with Linsanity having died down, the Heat are doing the NBA a big favor. After nine straight games that they all won by 12 or more points, they've played it close in three of their past five.
Twitter is getting overloaded. Radio talk-show ratings are soaring.
So what happened in the latest Heat close game? In a 93-91 overtime win Saturday night over Indiana at AmericanAirlines Arena, both James and Wade made last-second shots.
But in the LeBron-just-can't-win category, it would figure James' big shot came near the end of regulation while Wade's was at the end of overtime. His 19-foot jumper over Paul George with 0.1 seconds remaining doomed the Pacers and touched off a celebration in which Wade and James both ran down the court and shared a chest bump before the wildly enthusiastic fans.
Wade, who had a game-high 28 points Saturday, and James, who added 27, claim not to care about all this debating that goes on about Heat last-second situations. But just about everybody else does.
"It is what it is, honestly," LeBron said after the game about James supposedly deferring to Wade in the waning seconds and how it figures again to be a national talking point. "We understand what comes with it. I understand what comes with it. I've made game-winners, I've shot and missed game-winners, I've made passes for game-winners and I've made passes that didn't go in. I'm not too concerned about what happens out there. I can only be concerned about what happens in our locker room and what happens out on the floor."
Out on the floor, James looked as if he could be the sure-fire hero Saturday. He drilled a 3-pointer from the right corner with 10.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 85-85. Then he made a great defensive play on the other end, bothering Indiana guard Darren Collison into eventually being forced into a jump ball that the Pacers lost with 0.3 seconds left in regulation.
Overtime didn't start out well for James, who missed two free throws and a layup as the Heat fell behind 91-86. But he eventually hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 91-89 and fed Bosh for a 20-foot jumper that tied the score 91-91 with 1:03 left.
Then it was time for James to win it, right? Nope. His 3-pointer clanged off the iron with 24 seconds left in overtime.
But Udonis Haslem got the rebound for the Heat and passed it to James. King James then called Wade over and gave him the ball, suggesting he go to work. That's what happened as Wade ran the clock down and hit the penultimate shot.
"I was looking up at the clock," Wade said. "We were either going to go to another overtime or we were going to win this game . . . I was just able to make a good play."
After the shot went in, James was just as happy as Wade.
"I didn't second guess at all," James said of giving the ball to Wade. "I had enough opportunities in the game to make plays. I made a few that put us the position to win. That's all I want to do is make plays and give ourselves a chance to win, and D-Wade brought it home for us."
It was just in time. Right after Wade's big basket, there was a power outage in the arena for about a minute.
"He shot the lights out," Bosh quipped.
For most teams, it would simply have been a big win. But this Heat team is hardly a normal outfit.
It was just 13 days earlier that James was criticized for not shooting but rather trying to pass in the waning seconds of the down-to-wire All-Star Game. James turned the ball over, but the criticism after his East team's loss wasn't necessarily for that, it was for not even trying to shoot. And, mind you, it was an All-Star Game.
But that's the world in which James and the Heat reside. When it was suggested to Wade there would be no debating on this night who is the Miami go-to guy down the stretch due to the fact both James and Wade hit key last-second shots, even he wasn't buying it.
"No, it's always going to be something said and done," Wade said.
The record does show Wade is the better Heat closer. He's had three game-winning shots this season while James has had none.
For Wade, there was a 10-footer with 2.9 seconds left in a 96-95 win Dec. 28 at Charlotte and an alley-oop layup from James with 4.6 seconds remaining in a 103-101 win Dec. 30 at Minnesota. Meanwhile, James' criticisms often have come when he doesn't even attempt a last-second shot, such as when he chose to pass to an open Haslem, who missed a jumper at the buzzer in the 99-98 loss March 2 at Utah.
Adding even more to this debate, Bosh, in an interview released in January, told GQ magazine he would take Wade over James for a last-second shot. But Bosh has stressed it was said in a positive tone about Wade and not a negative one about James.
"I'm comfortable with either one," Bosh said when reminded after Saturday's game about what he had told GQ. "But (Bosh said that) just out respect for Dwyane, just because he's been here so long, that was the only reason. But we have the luxury. Everybody doesn't have that luxury to be able to choose who can take that last shot and feel good about it."
Let the debate rage. For everybody's entertainment, the Heat need to continue to play lots of close games.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
